Understanding Different Types of Toothpaste and Their Uses

When you stroll down the toothpaste aisle at the supermarket you will find a wide selection of toothpastes to choose from.  Below is a breakdown of the different types.

Fluoride Toothpaste

• What It Is: Fluoride toothpaste is the go to for oral hygiene. Dentists recommend it for most people.
• Benefits:
  • Strengthens tooth enamel.
  • Prevents tooth decay and cavities.
• Popular Brands: Colgate, Crest, Sensodyne, and more.

Whitening Toothpaste

• What It Is: Whitening toothpaste contains mild abrasives or peroxide to remove surface stains and brighten your smile.
• Benefits:
  • Removes stains.
  • Restores teeth to their natural colour.
• Some toothpastes include sodium hexametaphosphate, which can repel stains from the surface of teeth. 
• Hydrogen peroxide is added to toothpastes that aim to lighten the colour of teeth, at levels from 1 to 5%.
• Remember: It won’t give you Hollywood-level sparkle, but it helps!

Sensitive Toothpaste

• What It Is: Formulated to provide relief from tooth sensitivity.
• Ingredients:  Often contains potassium nitrate or strontium chloride, arginine, calcium carbonate, strontium chloride, stannous fluoride, and calcium sodium phosphosilicate.
  • Ingredients that help to treat tooth sensitivity work by two main methods.
    1. The nerves in the teeth are soothed so they are not triggered by stimuli like cold.
    2. A barrier is created over the sensitive area, which stops it from responding to stimuli.

Calculus (tartar) control

Calculus, sometimes referred to as tartar, can build up on the surface of the teeth. When dental plaque is not cleaned away, excess minerals found in the saliva enter the plaque and cause it to calcify (harden), creating calculus. Calculus cannot be removed from the teeth with a toothbrush and must be removed by a dental practitioner who performs a professional cleaning of the teeth, known as a scale and clean.  Ingredients such as pyrophosphates, zinc citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate can help to reduce the build-up of calculus.

Natural and Fluoride-Free Toothpaste

• What It Is: For the eco-conscious and fluoride doubters.
• Ingredients:
  • Typically free of fluoride, artificial sweeteners, and harsh chemicals.
  • May contain natural ingredients like baking soda, charcoal, or herbal extracts.
• Remember: While natural, it lacks the enamel-strengthening power of fluoride.

Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA)

Now, let’s talk about the secret code: RDA. It stands for Relative Dentin Abrasivity.

• What It Measures: RDA quantifies how abrasive a toothpaste is.
• Scale:
  • Standard reference abrasive: Assigned an RDA value of 100 (arbitrary).
  • Lower RDA = Less abrasive.
  • ADA recommends toothpaste with RDA at or below 250.
• Why It Matters: High abrasivity can harm tooth enamel and gums. Why are abrasives added?
• Most of the cleaning action during toothbrushing comes from the abrasive particles included in the toothpaste, which physically remove stains on the surfaces of teeth.

A little bit of abrasive can help the toothbrush bristles grip the sticky plaque and brush it away. As well as assisting with plaque removal, abrasives also assist with stain removal. Without any abrasive, toothpastes would become a slippery gel. Therefore, a little bit of abrasivity is beneficial. The balance that toothpaste manufacturers are aiming for is just enough abrasivity to safely and gently remove stains without damaging the enamel; not too little, not too much.  Examples of abrasives included in toothpastes include calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate salts, alumina, silica, and magnesium carbonate.

Now let’s understand other ingredients in toothpaste and the purposes of them.

Surfactants

Surfactants provide foam during brushing. This helps to spread the toothpaste in the mouth. They also have a detergent action that also breaks up dental plaque and loosens any sticky food particles that are attached to the teeth. As well, surfactants reduce the growth of bacteria in the mouth.

Commonly used surfactants include sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), cocamidopropyl betaine and sodium methyl cocoyl taurate (adinol). Sometimes a combination of surfactants are used.

Toothpastes for young children may be made to foam less, compared to toothpastes made for adults.

Thickening agents

Also known as binders, thickeners are added to achieve the desired paste consistency and to prevent ingredients from separating. They include mineral colloids, natural gums (e.g. xanthan gum), seaweed colloids (e.g. carrageenan) or synthetic cellulose. Without a binder present, the toothpaste would separate into a liquid and a solid that would need to be mixed before use.

Flavours

A range of flavours are used, such as spearmint or peppermint. These can give breath-freshening benefits. Mint flavours are always used together with a non-sugar sweetener, such as xylitol, sucralose, or sodium saccharin, to balance the taste of the main flavour.

Humectants

Humectants help to retain water within toothpaste, which stops the paste drying out. Ingredients such as glycerol and sorbitol perform this role. They also contribute to the overall flavour, and together with some added water help to hold the other ingredients together in a paste or gel form.

Solvents

Water is included as a solvent or carrier for other ingredients of the toothpaste. This makes the toothpaste flowable and hydrates the thickening agents. The combination of water and the humectant makes up approximately 75% of the volume of toothpaste.

Buffers

These ingredients are added to stop the toothpaste from being acidic, which could negatively affect the teeth. Examples of buffers include trisodium phosphate, sodium citrate, sodium hydroxide and pyrophosphates.

Colour

Ingredients such as titanium dioxide make toothpaste appear white in colour. Some toothpaste contain food colours to give them a special colour.

Only apply a ‘pea-sized’ amount of toothpaste to your brush. 

Fluoride

Fluoride is the key ingredient included in toothpaste to help prevent tooth decay.

There are three types of fluorides you may see listed on toothpaste tubes. These include sodium monofluorophosphate (MFP), sodium fluoride (NaF) and stannous fluoride (SnF2).

Toothpaste designed for children aged 18 months to 6 years usually has 500 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride present. Toothpastes for children 6+ years and adults will usually have 1000 or 1450 ppm of fluoride.

Hydroxyapatite

Hydroxyapatite is the main mineral component of tooth enamel. In some toothpastes, hydroxyapatite is included as a source of calcium, to help repair tooth structure. It can be used with fluoride, or by itself. This is a relatively new concept, and more research is required to know how effective this is when used over a long period of time.